Guided munitions such as guided missiles typically comprise several major sub-assemblies, typically a guidance sub-assembly, a control sub-assembly, an armament sub-assembly (typically comprising a warhead and fuze) and a propulsion sub-assembly. The guidance sub-assembly determines the manoeuvres that should be executed by the munition in order for the munition to reach its target, and causes those manoeuvres to be executed via the control sub-assembly. The guidance sub-assembly includes a seeker which determines target location from sensing data. The arrangement of the major sub-assemblies within the munition varies between different types of munition, but typically the guidance sub-assembly is placed in front of the armament sub-assembly, in order to ensure that the seeker within the guidance sub-assembly is able to obtain information on target location over an uninterrupted field of view (i.e. so that the field-of-view from which information is obtained for the seeker is not obscured by the warhead).
However, placing the armament sub-assembly behind the guidance sub-assembly has a significant detrimental effect on warhead performance. For anti-armour and other forward-acting warheads, the detrimental effect is very significant. Consequently, it has been necessary to over-design warheads to ensure their effectiveness against such targets. Such over-design includes, for example, requiring additional explosive material within the warhead, which adds to the weight of the missile.
The present invention seeks to mitigate the above-mentioned problems. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide an improved guidance apparatus. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide an improved method of guidance.